Best Brewers

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Saturday, March 22, 2008

I love a good beer bar, and I found two of them on my weekend trip to New York City. The Ginger Man has 60 taps and 120 bottles... and everyone knows it! The House of Brews was much more low-key and had 80 different beers, with a good focus on local breweries. I would recommend both. What I would not recommend is the microbrewery where we started our night: Heartland Brewery.

Heartland Big Belgian Blonde AleSample -- Heartland Brewery, NYCtranslucent with some minimal aroma of fruit and yeast. tastes strongly of banana... not my favorite fruit. there is some warming alcohol but a very liberal interpretation of belgian style.Score: 6

Southampton Double White AleTap -- The House of Brews, NYCcloudy pour, sweet and yeasty on nose. mild citrus and spice with subdued aftertaste. good mouthfeel: clean, astringent, dry, and lively. my first beer from southampton and i liked it very much.Score: 9

Monday, March 3, 2008

Saturday after an exciting Boston Bruins win in a shootout, I went across the Charles with a few friends to the Cambridge Brewing Company. This has been on my to-do list for some time, and for good reason. This was the best brewery I have been to on the East Coast, with a great atmosphere, good food (although I would avoid the steak...), and even proper glassware! Their beer was pretty solid too... not a bad one in the bunch!

a very unusual amber. appearance is the expected dark amber but i was surprised to be met with coffee and cocoa on the aroma. nutty, coffee flavors complement taste of roasted malts. cambridge is certainly testing the style on this one and i am giving points for creativity here.

hazy, golden-orange with long lacing. smell of spice, yeast, apple juice. very sweet, prominent yeast, fruity on taste buds. lively carbonation, kind of dry, medium-bodied. true to style, but not something i could drink a lot of.

dark pour, blanketed with tan head. this one is all about the coffee, both on nose and buds. i'm surprised they call this an oatmeal stout, and not a sweet stout... no oatmeal to be found at all. rich and full-bodied. not nearly as subtle as the description says, but i like it a lot.